So, yesterday I called my mom and said, "I just wanted to let you that we are fine." To which she replied, "Why are you calling? That doesn't sound good."

The truth be told, I hadn't planned to call, and we had been dealing with the situation just fine all afternoon long. I had stocked up on bottled water, canned goods, flashlights, batteries, band-aids, you know, basic emergency supplies. And, I didn't want to worry our parents. And then, I logged on to the Internet, and found out that the story had gone national. There in blazing red ink on Foxnews.com, the headlines flashed: Chemical Fire Forces Evacuation of Thousands in Bryan, Texas.

You see, we live in B.C.S. (Bryan, College Station). As a matter of fact all morning long, the sirens were wailing all around us and I believe there were at least 4 other cities that sent their fire departments as well as the county fire department. Apparently there was this huge, orange cloud that hovered on the horizon for an hour or so, and then it disappeared and was replaced by black clouds fading to gray and a sharp smell.

We missed all of that. The guys were comatose because of their early morning stint with the tarp, the window and the rain (sounds like a CS Lewsi book title), and the girls were playing outside and spraying each other with water, and I was making lunch and cookies. We didn't find out about this emergency until Blinn College called us to notify us that classes were canceled for the rest of the day, and that we needed to follow evacuation procedures.

That was when we turned on the radio, and sent me for emergency rations. Boy was the town busy. People driving everywhere. Parking lots filled. Stoplights backed up. It took me 20 minutes to drive to the store. I would rather have walked, but the chemical fire... I could've walked to the store in 15 minutes. Oh, well.

Even then, we didn't think of calling anyone. I mean, this stuff happens in Portland all the time, and it never makes the headlines. We didn't count on the fact that a city of 80,000 was being evacuated. Excuse me, a city of 80,000 near a campus of 50,000 near a city of 4 million. I guess that makes it national news for at least 30 minutes.

So, at around 6:00 last night, I guiltily picked up the phone and made my first phone call: my mom. At 6:10 I finished my last phone call: my mom. Yup, I only called one person. I figured if she didn't know about the fire, then probably nobody else had heard of it. Especially since she was at home, not working, watching TV with Big Grandma.

I guess I was mistaken. I woke up this morning to a plethora of emails. Sorry about that. Thanks for the concern. I guess I should've called....

Ooooo! Cool!

Today the weather has finally abated and we are enjoying a truly cool breezy day. It is only 77F. The girls are outside tromping around in their boots, splashing in mud puddles and getting unbelievably dirty and wet. I'm pretty sure that today is bath day, or perhaps shower and then bath.

I dragged myself out of bed at around 7:00 this morning because the girls were up and making so much noise. As I stumbled around the kitchen turning on the espresso machine, getting down the espresso grounds, washing a pot to make oatmeal, finding a demitasse, the flood gates of heaven opened and it started to pour. I was pleased to note that Tanner's stint up on the roof was successful and not a single drop of water came into the kitchen. That was when I heard Katie say in a very guilty tone of voice, "Uh, oh..." I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. No coffee in the system makes for a very grumpy mommy. I eyed my espresso machine longingly, but left it alone and went into the girls' bedroom.

Uh, oh...

Water was pouring in through the top of their window. I shouted for Tanner. Ran into Jonny's room and woke him up, and we all began to stumble around, sleepy eyed, looking for tarps. I found some rice crackers, two bananas and some grapes and told the girls to eat it for breakfast. Tanner got the ladder and went into the attic. Jonathan sat on the edge of our bed and numbly stared at the black hole to make sure no rodents dropped into the house, and I searched the back room. Twenty minutes and no-coffee later, we struggled out into the storm with a white tarp, nails, hammer and ladder.

I got the better part of the deal and only stood outside for about 30 seconds. Then I got to run back inside while the guys set up the ladder, nailed the tarp to the eaves of the roof and then secured it to right below the top of the window. When they got back inside their shorts and shirts were very wet. Wet like they had jumped into a pool fully clothed. I thanked them, sent Jonny to bed and asked Tanner to stay up for about 1/2 an hours so that I could run to Target and get some rash cream for Georgie and diapers for Reagan.

You see, during their struggle with the forces of nature, Reagan needed a diaper change. Unfortunately there were no diapers, and I still hadn't had my cup of coffee. This is the first time I've ever lost track of how many diapers I had left for my babes, so Reagan was running around the house naked. A trip to Target was of paramount importance, and I didn't want to send Tanner since I figured he was more tired than I was.

So, to Target I went. Diapers, rash cream, and a dry cappuccino. And of course while I'm drinking my coffee I wandered down the aisles and discovered shelves of toys discounted 50%, so I took care of a bunch of Christmas and birthday shopping. Then I came home.

The rain has let up, and the guys are fast asleep, and Georgie has drifted off to baby-sleep-land. Now, I just have to tackle the kitchen and wash all the dishes, but I think I'll have a hot cup of coffee before I do that.

date night and other things

The benefit of having Jonathan live with us is that we have a built in babysitter. We haven't had a date night since we moved to Texas unless you count the week we were in PDX and Joanelle and Josh watched our kids for us. I guess I should say we haven't had a date night IN Texas. So, last night was our first date night. Tanner was really excited about it since he planned it all out and surprised me.

I must say, he's getting pretty good at it. We started out by walking to Starbucks, and then we strolled along the river walk and spent a little time praying together. Wow, it is nice to get in some prayer time without rushing because you're afraid that the kids are going to interrupt at any minute. By that time it was almost 8:00, and I was glad I was dressed for the cool, night air. I wore socks, tennis shoes, pants and a t-shirt and felt a little "cold". It must have only been 85F or so. I thought we would head home, but Tanner said we had one more stop to make. I thought maybe he wanted some Taco Bell, but instead, he took me across the street to the ice skating rink. I thought maybe he wanted to check it out before school started because he's taking it for P.E., but no, apparently it was public skate time.

So, like a couple of teenagers, we headed out to the ice. It's been almost 10 years since I went gliding across the ice, and boy was there a relearning curve. I had a lot of fun screeching and begging kids to move out of my way so that I wouldn't topple over them. Now, here is the funny part. Of course there has to be a funny part to this story, right? Well, it has to do with those darn Texans. The AC was on full blast at the rink, but it wasn't as cold as the ice rinks in PDX. The air was probably 70F or more. Now, here is the catch, all the kids at the rink were wearing, hats, gloves, parkas, you name the winter gear: they had it ALL on. The rink had a warning sign posted about hypothermia and please dress warmly. I saw kids shivering, flailing their arms, stamping their feet. I heard one kid complain that it was too cold couldn't they get some hot chocolate.

Thoughts on other things: I think Reagan has been watching too many episodes of Murder, She Wrote. Today, she showed us how to be dead, and then she opened her eyes and said she'd been dead for at least 2 hours. Then she told us that she was strangled. Time for some Dora the Explorer, I think. Here are pictures of Reagan staring at the screen whenever we watch Meet the Robinsons. It is her favorite movie. I just wish I could find a "Lewlis" toy.

Reagan was very proud of this tower she built. Of course, she didn't come up with the idea on her own. I showed her what she could do, and then she proceeded to copy me. I was pretty impressed that she got the spacing correct. She could also identify quite a number of the letters. She pointed out "O" and "S" and "A" and "B". Hmmm...pretty cool.

Georgie has learned how to turn around while standing. She's very proud of this and tries it whenever her sisters get up to dance.

The pictures below are of a fish that is found in the rivers and lakes around here. It's a pike, but more to the point the locals call it an Alligator Mar. Yes, those are teeth! And this is a small one our neighbor explained. They can weigh 200lbs or more! I don't think we'll be going in the water any time soon.

More of George

Kate's first play date

Isn't this just great? We move to Texas and suddenly find ourselves immeresed with friends. We took Kate to her first play date today. She has made friends with one of my violin student's sister. So, since today is teaching day, we took her over early this morning so that they could get in a couple of hours of play time. Let's just hope it all goes well and they don't end up squabbling and crying before the alotted time period expires.

Reagan didn't know what to do with herself once her sister was gone, but I think she has been pleased with the outcome. She got to tromp around outside with Daddy and move brush to the front yard. She went to Michaels with Mommy and got a new set of blocks. When we went to Starbucks, she got a mini, vanilla bean scone. She gets to play with her blocks without having to share. Yes, I think she is enjoying a little break from big sister. The house is much quieter, and I wonder if this is what it will be like when Kate is at school.

Georgianna is really walking now. Today at the Children's Museum, she would walk from toy to toy rather than crawl. It was only toward the very end of our visit that she became too tired, and then she laid on the floor and cried until I picked her up.

We picked out Kate's backpack and lunch pail today. She really wanted this white backpack with pink flowers, but it was $39! Forget it. I pointed out that it was a little too big for her, and we moved on to the other racks. I showed her Hello, Kitty, Ni-hao Kailan, Hannah Montana, Transformers, all sorts of backpacks, but she didn't like any of them. I didn't bother with the Disney Princess backpack because the last time I showed her something princessy, she wasn't at all interested. She's been obsessed with Hannah Montana. So, I was very surprised when she let out a squeal of delight and ran toward a hot-pink backpack with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I was relieved to find that it was on sale for $8.99. On to the lunch pails. I suggested a guitar shaped Hannah Montana lunch pail, but Katie frowned at me, put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "They have to match, Mommy!" Okay, then. We searched three aisles of lunch pails before we found the last Princess lunch pail in hot-pink. It was shoved behind a soccer ball. She also wanted to get a matching thermos, but I drew then line at the thermos. The cheapest one we could find was $16. I told her we would have to check Wal-mart first.

And of course, I did it again. I thought it was a nice, cool day. I turned the big AC off and just cooled the girls' room and Jonny's room. Then I took the girls to the park for a picnic. Georgie proved herself to be a true climber. She clambered up the stairs, found the slide, found the tunnel, clambered down the stairs. She is amazing. I am scared! Reagan chased Squirrel Nutkin and Chippy the Squirrel, while Kate made friends and played on the monkey bars. I forgot to bring formula for George, so we stopped by the house before going to the Children's Museum. Well, you all should know that I read that little temperature sign at the CVS that's on Texas Ave. It read 99F. So much for a cooler day though I must say that I'm not the only one acclimatizing. Even Jonathan remarked at how cool it was. I laughed at him and told him what the thermometer was reading. His response was to go grab a beach towel and try for a little suntan. I don't suppose he'll listen to my dire warnings about skin cancer. Just like people ask me why my skin looks so great. I'm so lucky to look so young. I shrug, cuz I know they won't want to hear what I have to say. It's called sunscreen and reduced sun exposure. I just don't sunbathe anymore. I did when I was 14 or so, but by the time I was 18, I had quit. Lots of sunscreen and moisturizer and, of course, my dad's genetics helps.

Jonny made one mistake...

Today, after I had finished doing laundry, fixing our Internet connection, feeding kids, cleaning kitchen, doing even more laundry, picking up toys, vacuuming, cleaning the girls room, walking to the store to get formula, and making dinner, Jonathan said, "I'm bored."

His big sister smiled and handed him a trowel, some joint compound and a trough. I stopped what I was doing, took him over to one of the many walls that are still in need of mudding, and showed him how to smear the stuff on and smooth it out. He worked on it until dinner was ready, and, funny thing, he wasn't bored anymore.

Now, the great thing about all of this was that I've been procrastinating about mudding that particular wall because it has a long stretch of ceiling work, and there's no way to get a ladder in the room, so, for me, it would have meant teetering precariously on a makeshift platform or standing on my tiptoes for an hour. Well, Jonny did it for me, and I think I'll make that his "special" job. We have lots of ceiling work (please, imagine an evil grin at this point).

Kate made chocolate chip cookies in her Easy Bake Oven today. It's just like I remember my Easy Bake. One 100watt lightbulb, and a lot of fun. When I make chocolate chip cookies, I double the recipe and then divide the dough into four portions. Then I make one set of cookies and freeze the rest. It makes it easy to have a "baking" day with the girls, and they think I'm a great mom because when they ask if they can bake cookies, I say, "Sure," and then I pull out a package of frozen cookie dough, let it thaw for 30 minutes and hey, presto we're making cookies. I figured if Pillsbury can do it, why can't I?

Jonathan discovered the joys of my once a month cooking thing. Well, I don't really cook just once a month. I know that there are plenty of people out there that do, but it's just not my style. However, whenever meat goes on sale, I buy a bunch of it, marinate it, and throw it into the freezer. And then, if I decide to make spaghetti one night, I make three batches instead of one, and then put two batches in foil pans and into the freezer they go. Makes sense, right? So, the other night, when I had my mini-melt, it just happened to be around dinner time. So, Jonny, realizing that dinner wasn't going to materialize, opened the freezer, found one of the tins, and stuck it in the oven. Then all we had to do was chop up stuff for a salad, and we were ready for dinner. So, technically, Jonny made dinner for us...